Mitch Hooke

Mitch Hooke has been Chief Executive of the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) since April 2002.

Background
A biographical note states that prior to joing the MCA, Hooke was the "inaugural Chief Executive of the Australian Food and Grocery Council from 1995 to 2002. Earlier, he was Executive Director of the Grains Council of Australia. He was also "a past chairman of the Australian Industry Greenhouse Network, was part of Australia’s official delegation to the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development, and a former Governor of the Crawford Fund for International Agricultural Research. He has been a member of the Executive of the Business Coalition for Tax Reform since its inception in 1996."

A biographical note states that he has been a member of "the Australian Trade Minister’s World Trade Organisation Advisory Council and Free Trade Agreement Export Advisory Panel and has been a member of the official Australian delegation to every Ministerial Meeting since the WTO’s formation in 1994. He is an emeritus member of the International Food and Agricultural Trade Policy Council and chairs China Business Focus – a multi sector industry grouping established to promote an FTA between Australia and China, and chairs the Trade Policy Group of the International Council of Mining and Metals."

Coal Booster
Hooke has been one of the leading lobbyists against the Australian government committing to substantial cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. On March 17th 2009 Hooke spoke on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Radio National arguing against the proposition that “Green jobs” will strengthen our economy. This proposition directly contradicts Hooke’s argument that increasing the share of renewable energy will cost jobs, a claim he has vigorously pushed through his public retaliations. During this debate Hooke claimed that most of Germany’s electricity is imported from France. However, an investigation of Germany’s energy profile shows that Germany has remained a net exporter of electricity while the share of renewables in Germany’s electricity has grown.

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